Brothers
by Cartoon Cow
Summary: Ed watched the three men, "You can't sing worth a crap." Just a one shot of how the song Brothers would have been wrote if Ed were the one who had to write it. Bad summary but please give it a shot and review I worked hard on this.


**Hi guys! This idea came to me after I heard Vic Mignogna singing **_**Brothers**_**, and since he voices Ed I just kinda pictured this happening. Please read and review :D**

**Ok theres this one sentence in here that I tried to fix but every time I rewrote it, it still came out with Ed sounding like a stripper. Lol you'll find it XD**

15 year old Ed knocked briefly on the door before walking inside his superiors office with his report tucked safely inside his coat.

Roy Mustang sat at his desk, Jean, Breda, and Fuery sitting at the table to his right.

"Fullmetal. Glad to see you're back with no harm done to yourself. But how much pain are you going to cause my wallet?" Roy mused with a smirk on his lips.

"Can it Mustang. If you hadn't sent me then you wouldn't have to cry over the wallet you have zipped up too damn tight." Ed replied pulling out his report and flopping it on Roy's desk.

Roy pulled the report towards him, "Can I go now?" Ed asked.

"No, do please have a seat." Roy replied turning the page on Ed's report.

"I'm telling you Havoc I can't sing worth a crap." Fuery said handing the song lyrics back to Havoc.

"I can sing, I just get stage fright." Breda gloated from the corner.

"Oh yeah, sing us something then." Havoc said madly sarcastic.

"Alright then." Breda raised a hand," DDAAhaHHAHhahHAAAAAhhahHAHH."

"You didn't keep the note steady and you were out of tune." Havoc judged while Fuery rubbed his ear trying to sooth the throbbing pain, "Just listen to me sing this song." He gulped," Before Riza gets back." he cleared his throat," WELL I JusT SAW HALeyS ComMET SHE Waved."

"STOP!" Fuery and Breda died laughing.

Ed watched the three men, "You can't sing worth a crap."

"Oh really Edward", Havoc glared madly at Breda and Fuery who hadn't ceased their laughing, "Then you come sing it." He held out the lyrics.

Roy paused in his reading of Ed's report, "Fullmetal couldn't sing if his life depended on it."

Ed furrowed his brows, "You wanna bet", he stood from the couch and snatched the lyrics away from Havoc, "Oh I've heard this song before." He grinned.

"Listen up." Ed took a breath, "My eyes are open wide, and by the way, I made it through the day…. I watch the world outside, and by the way, I'm leavin out today… Well I just saw Haley's comet she waved, said why you always runnin in place, even the man in the moon disappears…. Somewhere in the Stratosphere. Tell my mother, tell my father, I've done the best I caaaaaan, to make them realize this is my life. I hope they understand! I'm not angry, I'm just saying!" Ed stopped to take a breath, he looked up from the paper.

"Sometimes good-bye is a second chance…"

Everybody was speechless, how did Edward sing so well…?

Ed smirked successfully, handing the lyrics back to Havoc.

"You were saying Colonel?" Ed grabbed his Colonels shoulder, eyeing him victoriously.

Upon no response Ed chuckled and walked over to the door, "I guess I'll be going now." He said walking out.

"Man Ed is a really good singer." Fuery gawked.

"Yeah." Havoc agreed.

"Damn kids a prodigy." Breda added.

"He was actually a good singer." Roy sat dumbfounded.

He jumped out of his trance and looked over Ed's report quickly.

"Uhhh…. Colonel?" Fuery asked exchanging glances with Havoc.

"He's caused a lot of our country's money being spent. I think it's time we make him earn some back." Roy smirked leaning back in his chair.

"Uhhh….. Sir?" Havoc asked.

"Isn't that auditorium on 6th having performance openings this next couple of weeks?" Roy asked.

"Yeah. I went with my girl-friend last week." Havoc pitched in.

"Then Fullmetal's gonna sing his heart out." Roy stood from his seat, "Why don't we go make the preparations?" he grinned motioning his men to follow him out the door.

* * *

Ed shut the Colonels door behind him and headed back outside HQ.

"How'd it go?" Al asked standing up from the step he was sitting on.

"He just ranted about how much I was costing the country's funding so I rubbed my good talents all in the Colonels face, free of charge." Ed said happily.

"What does that mean?" Al asked.

Edward stopped and smiled at his brother, "Nothing important," he replied, "let's go home."

"Okay." Al said following his brother.

Roy walked up smugly to Edwards barrack door, a couple of papers held confidently in one hand as he knocked with the other hand.

Alphonse opened the door, surprised at who it was, "Colonel?" the armor gasped.

"What?!" Ed's eyes darted up from the book he had been reading.

Roy smirked, "Hello Alphonse." He strode past him to where Edward sat across the room, a book held loosely in his automail fingers, "Hey Fullmetal."

"What are you so happy about, you finally figure out how to use alchemy?" Ed joked dryly.

Roy wasn't going to let Ed's childish joke drag his happiness down, pure evil, his plan was.

"Joke all you want Fullmetal." Roy's smirk widened, making Ed now a little on edge.

The book closed, "Don't tell me you have a peep hole somewhere in here?" Ed scooted away a little in his seat.

"What?" Roy didn't understand at first.

Realization.

"What! No! Just!" lost for words Mustang thrust the papers into the boy's hand, "As revenge for being a brat subordinate you're required to write a song and perform it here three nights from now."

"What!?" Ed exclaimed shooting up from his seat, "No way! I was just singing to show Havoc up, Al and I aren't a boy band you know!"

"I didn't say Al was singing with you. This is punishment, by having my entire team, and your apparent new fans Mr. Hero of the People, if you screw up everyone will know about it because they'll all be there! Its being advertised right now by Hughes on the square."

Edward looked over the papers, "Look Mustang, not only singing, how the hell do you expect me to write a song?"

Roy, now smug again, smiled, "You'll think of something. You'll also have to find someone to compose the music or you'll be singing all by your lonesome."

Ed was steaming, "I don't have to do this!"

"Yeah you do, if you want to continue roaming the countryside looking for leads instead of vacuuming the office floor." Roy waved as he left, "Good luck. Don't forget you have three days from now."

Al starred at his brother after shutting the door behind the Colonel, "You sang to them?"

Ed threw his hands in the air, "I was only showing Havoc up, I didn't imagine this crap would happen!"

Al was silent for a moment, "What are we gonna do?"

Edward stood from his seat and threw his jacket on his shoulders, "I'm going to find some damn inspiration that's what." The door slammed behind him on his way out.

Al sighed, deciding that continuing research and giving his brother space was the best choice.

* * *

Ed flopped on a bench after about an hour of walking and pondering, "What the hell am I supposed to write about? I'm an alchemist not a pop star."

An old man passing by stopped, "What ails you boy? Writing a speech and missing a topic?"

"Tch something like that." Ed responded flatly.

"Say, you're that young alchemist boy aren't you?" The old man asked as he squinted to clear Ed's image.

Trying to remember his manners Ed gritted his teeth to push down his foul mood, "Yes sir, that's me."

"Ahahaha." The old man laughed, "You don't gotta call me sir. Well seems like you got a problem. Why don't you write about something that's important to you? Like maybe something you've always dreamed of having."

Ed looked down at his automail hand, _"What could I possibly write to make a song out of the philosophers stone? Speaking of which I should so be researching right now instead of worrying about being court martialed over this shit! I'll never get Al his boy back at this rate…. Al!"_

The Fullmetal Alchemist shot up from his seat, "Thanks old man!" he ran off towards what he was calling home for now in the barracks near command.

"Ahhh youths." The old man smiled.

* * *

**3 days later- Auditorium **

Edward blushed slightly as a woman leaned in close to his face to observe his features, then quickly raised her hand to slide a brush across his face.

"Wo wo wo!" Ed wiped at his face, "Is this make up?!" he yelled to his commanding officer.

"Yep." Mustang grinned.

"No I'm drawing the line at makeup. I wrote a song, I had a friend of a friend set up music to it I showed up _on time- AND _put on this stupid tuxedo!I'm not doing make up." Edward threw his red coat to the side as the heat from the stage lights made the backstage area even hotter than it already was.

"Fine. But only because I respect the pride of this unit." Roy nodded to the makeup artist that she could leave, "Don't screw this up kid, we're actually doing something with the money you're raising by performing here tonight."

"Like what?!" Ed yelled at the back of his retreating colonel.

"Tell ya later, now I gotta go find my seat."

Edward growled under his breath as a loud overly chipper voice resonated from the sound system.

"Tonight folks we have a _very_ special guest. Some of him know him by the Fullmetal Alchemist, others know him by the hero of the people. Give a warm welcome to Mr. Edward Elric!"

Ed stood before the side where he was supposed to go out and for a moment he couldn't move. His heart was pounding and now he considered the possibility of escape when a stage hand shoved him out onto the stage.

As he walked out he scanned the audience, his unit, Al and the Hughes family were located in the front row- of course- he dead panned- and there were lots of people dressed up throughout the crowd. Even in the balcony seats he could see the Furher and his family.

Somehow without realizing it his feet had lead him to the microphone, "Uhhh Hi." He rarely got nervous but this was one of those –this never happens- moments.

Roy leaned forward in his seat, "Hey kid."

Ed looked down at him.

"Don't pee your pants. Their rented."

A gun appeared in front of Roy's face, which shut him up real quick.

Ed was glad the lieutenant was there to keep him in check (though he wondered how she got that past security), or else he would've transmuted the stage curtain to fall on his pompous mug then he'd be court martialed for sure.

"I um, I wrote this for my brother. Because he's had to put up with me and my mistakes." He could hear the intro of his music beginning to play. He counted off the seconds in his mind for when he was supposed to come in, "He's been a true brother and a good friend…."

He took a breath, "How can I repay you brother mine, how can I expect you to forgive? Clinging to the past I shed our blood, and shattered your chance to live. Though I knew the laws I paid no heed. How can I return your wasted breath? What I did not know has cost you dear, for there is no cure for death.

"Beautiful mother soft and sweet, once you were gone we were not complete. Back through the years we reached for you, alas was not meant to be. And how can I make amends for all that I took from you, I lead you with hopeless dreams my brother I was a fool."

His heart was pounding in his chest, every time he thought of his mother it shred his heart into pieces. Would she have been ashamed of him for what he did to Alphonse and himself? For trying to revive her as well?

The background music until it was time again, "So where do we go from here? And how to forget and forgive what's gone Is forever lost, now all we can do is live…."

The music ended, and people in the audience could be heard sniffing followed by a round of applause.

Edward backed up a couple of steps and bowed then quickly turned and left.

Roy sat in his seat shell shocked.

Is that how Ed had felt all this time? Like It was him who had 'killed' Alphonse and couldn't find a 'cure' for death.

To normal people in the audience those lyrics were just metaphorical, but to the people on the inside close to Ed, knew the actual meaning.

People were standing up, giving the young teen a standing ovation he didn't see.

Maes turned to Roy, "You need to talk to him."

"Yeah." Roy agreed.

* * *

Roy appeared in the dressing room sometime later, luckily timing it right so that Ed had already changed and was pulling on his boots.

"Hey." He stated trying to start up the conversation, "You uh, you did good tonight."

Ed glanced up at him, but went back to his boots, "So where does that money go?"

Mustang was surprised that Ed was still even thinking about it, "We found out that all funds from this weeks auditions goes directly to a senior citizens fund for better treatment. We actually never had a say in it in the first place."

"Oh." Ed thought back to the old man that had helped him, maybe he had just returned the favor to the stranger.

"You do know that um…" Why was this so difficult?!, "You know that you didn't kill Al right? It wasn't your fault."

The teen halted, "Yeah colonel I did." He rested his elbows on his knees and looked at the floor, "I put him in that body with no _life_. He can't eat or sleep or be _alive_. What I've done to him, there's no cure for- that's what I think sometimes. It seems like there isn't any hope left colonel. But I keep trying despite that. So don't even give me the sappy don't give up speech because I don't need it."

Before Roy could say anything else the door flung open and Al picked up his brother by the jacket, "Don't you even go thinking that!" he yelled shaking Ed a bit, "Don't you go thinking this is your fault Edward! We both made that decision! I was blinded by my own dreams just like you were. There's no changing that. I should be the one making amends, because I didn't stop us, it cost you your arm. You could've died saving me!" Al's armor was shaking, "I missed her just as much as you did…"

Ed's eyes were hidden by his bangs, but his automail hand raised and grabbed his brothers arm, "We'll get through this Al. I promise."

Roy could hear it in Ed's voice that resolve was there. New flame to the fire, more spark to the light.

Maes stood at the door, but the Flame alchemist was the only one to notice his presence.

"Lets go home."

"Yeah…"

**End**

**Sorry I didn't include Alphonse's part because Ed of course wouldn't write that in there if he was the one that really wrote it because that would be forcing Al to apologize to him through Ed's own mouth by his words…. If that made any sense to you.**

**I know it was long and skippy but then again this type of story isn't the easiest to write. Please read and review I put a lot of work into this….**


End file.
